Calling all science fiction lovers! Set your phasers to stun, ladies and gentlemen, because the newest space-age saga has arrived – Stronghold. The concept that Brian Visaggio, Kevin Roberts, and Martin Krause originated in 2006 has been written, re-written, edited, and now the first three issues are here, available in a bundle at the Comixology Web store and App!

The three issue bundle opens to tell about the Occupation, when twenty years ago the Ouranians came from their galaxy into ours, causing a war only our minds could imagine. Fast forward a few months, and the humans have surrendered to the ‘peace’ the Ouranians have offered them in exchange for the Alien Militant rule. And while most of Earth’s citizens appear to have accepted this new way of life, not all are happy wearing the chains that ‘peace’ has brought about. But what happens when a small human based terrorist cell is aided by another alien species set to destroy the Ouranian rule?

Brian Visaggio’s script opens with a very compelling history of Earth’s state. Right away the introductions of our main characters paint the picture of this new future, as every member of this terrorist cell are each a puzzle piece to the war about to begin. Visaggio proves himself a captivating storyteller right from page one, but the constant narration panels from character to character told in third person make me wonder who is actually supposed to be telling the story? By issue #3 of Stronghold, the narration panels stop and only appear as first person thoughts from time to time, something I hope Visaggio continues to do as Stronghold continues on. The pacing of the issues is key to this series, though, as there is a lot of background information Visaggio dishes out to the readers. Stronghold #3 is easily the best of the series so far, as Visaggio really finds his stride as a scripter and dishes out the action and story side by side in a very exciting fashion.

Kevin Roberts took on the daunting task of not only pencils, inks, and colors, but he also lettered all three issues of Stronghold as well. Roberts is to be commended for handling the entirety of the visual presentation for Visaggio’s script, however while some of the artwork was definitely a treat for the eyes, I found some of the visuals – particularly certain anatomical features and characteristics – slightly inconsistent from page to page. Roberts’ coloring also fell inconsistently as well. In some panels his shadowing, lighting, and overlapping is very well done with his digital effects (as seen in his great uniform designs for the T’aya), other times the characters look coated in plastic due to not enough layering. Some of the lettering overlaps other speech bubbles as well, which made reading Visaggio’s script not impossible, but difficult at times. That being said, the covers for Stronghold #1-#3 are stunning, and I can’t help but wonder if a third member was brought on to the Stronghold team to solely handle the lettering that would allow Roberts to focus on the pencils and coloring, and really make those panels stand out just as much as his covers.

If you’re a fan of Saga, or the new Star Trek and District 9 films, then Stronghold is the newest comic series for you! Though it takes a few pages to get going (as most new series featuring a brand new world view do), writer Brian Visaggio and artist Kevin Roberts have created a very enticing story for all science fiction fans and comic lovers to enjoy! I, for one, am very excited to see where this story goes as the tension builds and the plot unfolds. Don’t believe me? Check out Stronghold for yourself! The 3 issue bundle can be found at the Comixology Web store and App today!